[20] No damages, injuries from bomb explosion across from Greek embassy
in Libya

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' official visit to China with a delegation
of ministers and business repre-sentatives, which wrapped up Saturday
(Greek time), was "absolutely successful," according to a government
source summarising the results of the trip.

Chinese railways and container giant COSCO, the latter already active in
the port of Piraeus, will participate in the privatisation of TrainOSE,
Chinese businesses are interested in the Athens International Airport and
a Chinese group is interested in regional airports, the source said. The
Greek delegation also met with hi-tech Huawey and ZTE companies, which
expressed interest in opening a research facility and a logistics centre
in Greece and Chinese businesses are interested in privatisation of
Kasteli on Crete, among other collaborations.

In tourism, Greece is going to promote the country through Chinese
television while it is also looking to facilitate visa processing for
tourists from this country, as Chinese President Xi Jinping told Samaras
that 400 million Chinese would travel abroad in seven years. Shipping is
another promising sector, as 60 pct of Chinese oil and 50 pct of imports
to China are transported on Greek-owned tankers and ships.

The source noted however that "it is important that we do a 'follow-up',
something that has not been done in our country up to now. There will
be a special government group reviewing opportunities that opened and
checking what projects need to be done, who is involved, whether the
job was done or not, where it got stuck, and what can happen to help it
move." The general direction will be given by the government of China
itself, even in entrepreneurial projects, although there is a private
sector as well, especially in Shanghai, the source noted.

Samaras, who will be heading back to Greece after paying an official
one-day visit in Baku, Azerbaijan, is the second European leader to visit
China since the present government came to power in March, after French
President Francois Hollande.

There is no culture without growth and no growth without culture, Prime
Minister Antonis Samaras said at the World Cultural Forum in Hangzhou,
China, on Saturday.

In his keynote address at a forum on "Strengthening International
Cooperation to Build an Ecological Civilisation", Samaras focused on
balancing growth and environmental concerns, peppering his speech with
ancient Chinese and Greek references to the concept of harmony, common
to both ancient cultures.

On an official visit to China May 15-19, Samaras spoke of the need for
humans to "switch from a consumption-oriented to an ecological global
culture" and called on politicians to "look beyound the horizon" in
order to "win the ecological battles of today."

At Hangzhou, Samaras also met with the president of the Political
Conference of the Representatives of the People, Yu Chi Sen. A lot of
Greek businessmen are active in the greater Hangzhou area shipping sector,
the premier said, a sector that links Greece to China.

Samaras will be wrapping up his official visit in Shanghai, where he
will meet with the mayor of the city and later address the Greek-Chinese
Business Forum, before heading to Baku, Azerbaijan, for an official
one-day visit before returning to Greece.

The prime minister's official visit to China provided an opportunity
for more than 450 meetings between Greek and Chinese business people in
Beijing and Shanghai, the development, competitiveness, infrastructure,
transports and networks ministry said in an announcement on Sunday. These
meetings indicated strong Chinese interest in infrastructure projects,
privatisations, real estate and cooperation in the financial sector,
the ministry said.

It noted that the business delegation that accompanied the prime minister,
put together with the collaboration of Invest in Greece, the Greek Embassy
in Beijing and the Greek consulate in Shanghai, had the opportunity to
participate in business forums held in the two Chinese cities, attended
by large numbers of Chinese businesses.

This included 135 Chinese businesses with 257 participants in Beijing,
representing China's tourism, services, financial and investments
sectors. There were 271 B2B meetings with Greek companies at the forum,
with each of the 87 Greek companies attending having an average of four
meetings with Chinese counterparts.

In Shanghai, there were 120 Chinese firms taking part and a total of
184 B2B meetings with Greek companies, with more than half concerning
the tourism, real estate and shipping sectors.

In statements at the Shanghai forum, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras
stressed the need for follow-up actions to maintain the momentum built
up in Greek-Chinese economic relations and announced that 20 important
Chinese companies from Shanghai will be visiting Athens on June 17-21
to discuss investments and business collaboration in Greece. The visit
is to be organised by Invest in Greece and Shanghai's Greek consulate.

The results of the meetings indicate strong Chinese interest in the food
and tourism sectors, while a number of agreements were signed concerning
real estate, building on recently passed laws giving automatic long-term
residence permits to non-EU nationals that purchase property valued at
above 250,000 euros.

The meetings between Greek and Chinese high-tech firms also highlighted
unexplored potential for collaboration in the area of technology and the
development of products and services, as well as joint research. Meetings
between Greek banks and Chinese financial institutions showed mutual
interest in further developing cooperation.

A memorandum of cooperation signed by Invest in Greece and China
Development Bank, in the presence of the Greek and Chinese premiers, is
expected to further boost the momentum for cooperation between Greek and
Chinese businesses. Under the deal, China Development Bank will forward
investment plans drawn up by Invest in Greece to Chinese businesses
and, subject to assessment, also finance their implementation. In the
agreement, China Development Bank warmly welcomed the Greek government's
intention to set up an 'Institute for Growth' for Greece and pledged to
consider its participation in this international venture.

Other agreements signed included the protocol of cooperation between
China Development Bank and the Hellenic Republic Assets Development
Fund (HRADF) to promote Greece's privatisations programme in China and
encourage the active participation of Chinese companies.

Development, Competitiveness, Infrastructure, Transports and Networks
Minister Costis Hatzidakis and Deputy Development Minister Notis Mitarakis
also had a series of meetings with Chinese officials and business groups
during the visit. Among these was a visit to the Huawei and ZTE R&D
centres in Shanghai, during which the two sides planned the next steps
in their collaboration to further boost the presence of the two telecoms
and electronics firms in Greece.

Huawei's plans include setting up a transit and logistics centre for its
products and an R&D centre, in collaboration with top Greek high-tech
firms, while ZTE intends to turn Piraeus port into a transit and logistics
hub for supplying its products to Europe and the Mediterranean.

In an opinion piece on Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras with the
headline 'The reformer' appearing on Sunday, the German newspaper 'Welt
am Sonntag' hailed the Greek prime minister as the "Man of the Day"
and underlined his dedication to efforts for reform, as well as his
successes to date - among them his trip to China.

According to Florian Ender's article, the Greek premier helped to show
that even a country in the deepest of crises can be stabilised and
governed, much to the surprise of austerity-weary Europe.

He also described Samaras as having "chutzpah" and the audacity, during
his visit to Beijing, to compare his own crisis-stricken country with
"a vast empire, with more money than it knows what to do with," by
saying that the two countries were both essentially ancient cultures
and inviting the Chinese to "participate in the Greek success story".

Noting that the Chinese side had remained silent on whether it shared
this assessment of the situation, Ender noted that "self-confidence,
in any case, has returned to Athens" and offered the opinion that it was
"also the pride of one who has been underestimated, which allows the Greek
prime minister to stand tall, both within his country and in the world."

Though possibly, the author added, this might be pride bordering on
recklessness, given that the Greek premier has announced that Greece
will return to the markets within the next year.

Ender pointed out that unemployment in Greece continues to increase and
that an end to the recession that has already lasted six years "is more
a hope than a forecast". At the same time, he added, no one can overlook
the progress made when comparing the current situation with the political
chaos that existed a year ago, in between the country's two elections,
and the period when speculation was rife of a possible Greek exit from
the Eurozone.

He also compared the present situation with Samaras' own statements
regarding austerity and reforms before his election to government, which
at that time made him seem extremely unreliable, and said that no one
could deny the Greek prime minister credit for two seemingly impossible
achievements: to satisfy the country's creditors while at the same time
stabilising, to some extent, Greek politics and Greek society.

Florian referred to the statements by European Commissioner Olli Rehn
to the German newspaper, in which the Commissioner noted that Samaras
"surprised many with his ability to keep to a course of reforms and thus
restore confidence in Greece."

Noting a recent improvement in Greece's credit rating by Fitch,
including its assessment of the country's competitiveness, Ender noted
that Greece's violent lowering of unit labour costs cannot be overlooked,
nor its aggressive privatisation programme.

"For entrepreneurs, the country is once again a choice for
investment. This helps Samaras and his country" he added.

According to sources, the meeting was held in a friendly and welcoming
climate and the two leaders discussed the prospects for bilateral
cooperation in economic affairs, energy, tourism and culture.

Samaras presented Aliyev with an official invitation from Greek President
of the Republic Karolos Papoulias to visit Athens, while the Azeri
president invited the Greek premier to carry out an official visit
to Azerbaijan.

During the meeting, Samaras also referred to his earlier acquaintance
with the current president's father, Heydar Aliyev, when he was Greece's
foreign minister in the early '90s and promised to carry out an official
visit to Azerbaijan in the near future. The Greek premier then attended a
dinner hosted by Aliyev in his honour at the presidential mansion. During
his brief visit to the city, Samaras was also shown around Baku's cultural
centre and museum.

[06] SYRIZA on PM's visits in China, Azerbaijan and the privatisation
policy

Main opposition SYRIZA-EKM on Sunday commented on Prime Minister Antonis
Samaras' visits to China and Azerbaijan, accusing the government that
it has no plan apart from "turning the country into an immense Exclusive
Economic Zone, a haven for local and international business capital and
a hell for workers and the majority of society."

"While the Greek economy is collapsing as a result of the memorandum's
policy and society is suffering from unemployment and poverty, the prime
minister signs agreements to sell off the state's wealth and christens
them 'investments'," the party's announcement said.

According to the announcement "the sellout of our strategic tools for
growth and public property, the destruction of the environment and the
dismantling of the welfare state, together with the starvation wages,
turn the country into a third world state. Only the abrogation of
the memorandum and its replacement wtih a national plan of productive
reconstruction, development and support of the employment can halt the
course towards disaster."

The Democratic Left (DIM.AR) party, a junior member of the ruling
coalition, supports the government but the latter must also take society's
interest into account, party leader Fotis Kouvelis said on Saturday.

Speaking at the party's central committee meeting, Kouvelis said,
"We consider it self-evident that our support of the government must be
reflected in the policies applied, and be expressed in specific ways to
the benefit of society," taking into account "the limits of negotiation
with the troika and the balance of power within the government."

Kouvelis supported the founding of a trilateral committee that would
improve coordination among the ruling coalition parties (New Democracy,
PASOK and DIM.AR), and warned that although Greece seems to be exiting
the crisis, as recent feedback about its economy notes from abroad,
there should be no relaxing of efforts.

He criticised Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) for criticising the
government's policies without offering alternatives, and charged that
the main opposition party was trying to create widespread political
dissent. DIM.AR combined both a Leftist orientation and the need to play
an active role in change.

Greece must retain the positive climate it has achieved and cover its
fiscal targets for 2013 without introducing new measures reducting
income, and must prepare for a new agreement with the troika of lenders
in early 2014. The latest negotiation with the troika went well, he said,
although he insisted that the party's proposal to reduce the high VAT
rate in the food services sector should be implemented without delay in
time for this summer's tourist season.

The DIM.AR leader also issued a call for "joint political action by all
democratic and progressive citizens, movements and groups." He clarified,
"We are calling for a rallying, not necessarily a joining in the party,
as the aim we want to serve is great and needs wide majorities and new
practices and agreements.

Democratic Left (DIMAR) leader Fotis Kouvelis, leader of a junior member
of Greece's ruling coalition, outlined his thoughts on the possibility
of a government reshuffle, early elections, simple proportional
representation and coalition governments, as well as necessary reforms,
in an interview printed in the Sunday newspaper "Real News".

"I believe that a reshuffle should take place in July. I also think that
the government should be smaller and reach the end of its four-year term,"
Kouvelis said, underlining that there was no reason for early elections.

DIM.AR's leader strongly supported cooperation between the political
parties as "necessary and mandatory for the country," while he stressed
that there must be no further cuts in pensions and salaries. He also
emphasised the need for immediate measures to combat unemployment,
speed up reforms and promote the major structural reorganisation needed
in Greece's economy and the public sector.

Replying to a proposal by PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos, who suggested
that PASOK and DIM.AR run on a shared ticket in the next general
elections, Kouvelis said his party was interested "a reconstruction and
regrouping of the progressive area with a European orientation." He
noted that any convergence should be sought based on the development
of a substantive dialogue on specific issues and not through "political
gimmicks". It is clear that we are not interested in party collaborations,
he added.

Regarding party finances, Kouvelis said that this was not an internal
affair concerning the parties only but also a matter for the law.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is committing mistakes in handling the
extreme right, charged Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) leader Alexis
Tsipras on Saturday, asserting that only the Left could defend democracy
successfully.

Referring to the controversy surrounding a walkout of the extreme-right
Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avghi) party from Parliament Friday, the main
opposition leader said the memorandum and democracy "are entirely
incompatible and we see this incompatibility grow daily," and claimed that
was obvious in "the civil mobilisations of strikers now being carried
out preventively, in the continued, violent and unjustified oppression
against goldmine protesters in Halkidiki (Macedonia), and in the now
indiscreet political flirting of ND with the extreme Right."

"The Left is here to defend democracy at all levels," Tsipras added, and
called on the Left "and all democratic people, "even those democrats
affiliated with ND and watching helplessly Samaras' successive
extreme-right lapses," to "rise up" and defend democracy.

The main opposition leader goes to great lengths to insult everyone,
including the prime minister, in order to pander to his disorganised
party, government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said on Saturday, in response
to charges by Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) leader Alexis Tsipras that
only the Left could defend democracy. Tsipras made the comments during
his speech to his party's central committee.

"In a new recital of incoherence and irresponsibility, Tsipras takes a
stance against legality, threatens investors and even tries to slander
the prime minister himself, in a desperate attempt to satisfy his party's
factions, which are in disarray," Kedikoglou said in an announcement.

"Extremes are defined by their practices, and, unfortunately for SYRIZA,
its similarities with the extreme-right party of Golden Dawn (Chryssi
Avghi) are many," the spokesman added.

"The local and foreign business groups will be the ones that will gain
from the privatisation of the country's ports, airports, water supply,
energy and transport networks, that will increase their already huge
profits," the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) said on Sunday, referring
to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' visit to China and the government's
privatisation policy.

"The people will again face new cuts in salaries and pensions and
additional taxation, with new price hikes for services and public utility
rates," an announcement said.

KKE called on the people to "struggle against the government's policy,
as well as main opposition SYRIZA's position favouring collaboration
with private interests, while it focuses its criticism only on the cost
of privatisations, leaving aside the government-EU-plutocracy's policy
as a whole.

The 'Plan B' party started up by leftist politician Alekos Alavanos,
with an exit from the euro as its main policy platform, officially came
into being on Sunday, after the conclusion of its founding conference.

The proposal for the party's formation and its policies was unanimously
approved, apart from two blank votes.

Alavanos is a past leader of the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA)
party now led by Alexis Tsipras, and acted as the president of its
Parliamentary group.

Minister of State for the right-wing Independent Greeks party Terens Kouik
on Sunday confirmed his intention to resign as the party's Parliamentary
spokesman, in statements to the ANA-MPA. He did not, however, elaborate
on the reasons for his decision, nor clarify whether he had sent a letter
of resignation to make it official.

According to ANA-MPA sources, Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos on
Sunday discussed Kouik's decision to resign with the party's Parliamentary
group secretary Panagiotis Melas but had not yet received a letter
informing him of Kouik's decision to resign.

The official procedure followed in such cases requires that a letter
of resignation is sent to both the secretary of the Parliamentary group
and the party's president.

The two officials discussed issues regarding the cooperation in military
and defence as well as the security in the wider region on the occasion
of the conflict in Syria and the repercussions to neighbouring countries
as Lebanon and Jordan.

The two ministers agreed to meet in June in Israel to further boost the
bilateral relations of the two countries in sectors of common interest.

"We will return to the markets in 2014 under two conditions: that we
have a primary surplus and a positive growth rate for even one quarter,"
said Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras in an interview to the Sunday
newspaper 'Realnews'. Stournaras warned, however, that the situation
was currently very fragile and "a small mistake would be enough to bring
down what we have built with hard work."

Stournaras said that he was not worried that the Greek economy might
backslide, however. "I am not afraid because I have confidence in Prime
Minister Antonis Samaras, who is watching everything closely and steps
in whenever necessary," he said, adding that the only thing that would
frighten him is "a negative development in one of the three parties that
support the coalition government".

He expressed his optimism that a reduction in VAT for restaurants and
catering services will be applied in June, adding that it is a 'just
demand' but ruled out any possibility of a reduction in heating oil tax,
noting that any drop in the tax on heating oil will lead to the rise in
the contraband fuel trade.

Responding to his critics, the finance minister stressed that he was
"here to stay." "I am not expendable, as a public figure, I am open to
criticism when it is fair. I will not tolerate strikes below the belt
[...] I will complete my mission whether they like it or not."

The 34th Marathon Peace March dedicated to the 50th anniversary since
the murder of Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis concluded successfully
late on Sunday evening, with a large turnout by the public.

The march started at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday morning in Marathon, on the
east coast of Attica, and followed the route of the classic Marathon up
to the Greek defence ministry on Messogion Avenue in Athens.

Temporary traffic diversions were set up throughout Attica and Athens
until late in the evening, including the centre of Athens, due to the
Peace March and other races taking place in the city.

[17] Education minister hails success of 10th International Book Fair
in Thessaloniki

Alternate Education, Religions, Culture and Sports Minister Costas
Tzavaras on Sunday stressed the success of the 10th Thessaloniki
International Book Fair held in the northern Greek city, which he said
had belied the pessimists that doubted its success.

The minister noted that the General Secretariat for Culture had succeeded
in the organisation of the fair and would also undertake to organise
the 11th fair in May 2014.

He also underlined the need for tolerance, including religious tolerance,
in society during a statement after announcing that Thessaloniki had
joined an international network of cities against racism.

"We will not give any self-proclaimed protector the right to proceed
with extremities that no society can put up with," he said.

The 10th International Book Fair was held in Thessaloniki from May 16-19,
with dozens of presentations of books and authors, events and debates
held on the sidelines. Participants included 180 publishers based in
Greece and 30 from other countries, while the country of honour was the
United Kingdom.

Greece will find its way again, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece
Ieronymos said while delivering a Sunday sermon to the Greek-American
community at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Manhattan.

The head of Greece's Orthodox Church stressed that the country was going
through "much pain" but would keep its spirit strong and underlined the
need for unity. Referring to the Greek diaspora in America, he said it
was "a Greece outside of Greece, which has all the attributes of Greeks
throughout the ages."

After the sermon, Archbishop of America Demetrios presented Ieronymos
with a cheque for 100,000 dollars, as an initial contribution to be
spent on helping Greek children in need.

The joint service was attended by the Greek Ambassador to the United
States Christos Panagopoulos, Cyprus' permanent representative to
the United Nations, the consular authorities of Greece and Cyprus,
the directors of Greek services in the U.S. and several other clerics,
as well as representatives of the diaspora.

Two persons were seriously and 11 others lightly injured at an explosion
in a tavern on Salamina island at 10 a.m on Sunday.

According to Fire Brigade the tavern collapsed as well as the walls of
two adjacent buildings that were not inhabited. A search is underway to
found out whether there are any trapped people in the ruins.

[20] No damages, injuries from bomb explosion across from Greek embassy
in Libya

A small bomb exploded midday Saturday on the street the Greek embassy
in Libya is located, but there are no injuries or damages, according to
the Greek Foreign Ministry.

In an announcement, the Ministry said that the bomb was placed next to
a car parked on the street across from the Greek embassy and close to
those of Saudi Arabia and Algeria.

Fair weather and northwesterly winds are forecast for Monday. Wind
velocity will reach 6 on the Beaufort scale. Scattered clouds in
the northern parts of the country with temperatures ranging from
14C-32C. Sunny in the southern parts and in the islands, 15C-33C. Fair
in Athens, 19C-32C; the same for Thessaloniki, 16C-31C.